# Can a dead eye cry?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dead-eye-cry/425231>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 5, 2007, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dead-eye-cry/425231 "2007-11-05T00:53:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dead-eye-cry/425231/1 "2007-11-05T00:53:15Z")

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Inspired by [this comic](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0501.html): can you cry with a non-functioning eye?

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**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dead-eye-cry/425231/2 "2007-11-05T01:22:37Z")

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Tear ducts are not in the eye itself.

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**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dead-eye-cry/425231/3 "2007-11-05T02:59:44Z")

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If by “dead” and “non-functioning”, you mean blind, then, yes, a “dead” can cry.

As **ASAKMOTSD** noted, the tear ducts are located outside the eye (and the eye ball). Moreover, the nerves that control crying are distinct from those governing vision.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dead-eye-cry/425231/4 "2007-11-05T17:39:10Z")

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I had a hunch when I saw the title that that might be what this was about.

To put the question a bit more precisely, how likely is it that an injury to the eye region (presumably due to violence) sufficient to justify an eyepatch would leave the tear ducts of that eye still functioning?

The question comes up because it’s unclear whether that particular character is wearing an eyepatch for functional reasons, or just because it looks dramatic.

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**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dead-eye-cry/425231/5 "2007-11-05T19:23:18Z")

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[QUOTE=Chronos]  
To put the question a bit more precisely, how likely is it that an injury to the eye region (presumably due to violence) sufficient to justify an eyepatch would leave the tear ducts of that eye still functioning?  
[/QUOTE]  
I don’t know, but a friend had to have a tear duct restored after major facial injuries. They put a strand of some material through the duct until his face had healed somewhat.

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**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dead-eye-cry/425231/6 "2007-11-05T19:31:07Z")

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Strangely enough, I also was reading a comic just yesterday that referred to a “dead” eye tearing up, but it was a completely different comic.

Can anyone guess it? 🙂